Kay officially had her first full day of kindergarten. It is such a huge milestone, and while the first day of school is a big deal for any child, there are always a few extra things to consider when your child has special needs and cannot fully tell you about their day.
With Kay, I have to prepare the people caring for her for things that most parents probably do not have to think twice about. I have to explain that sometimes Kay runs off because she thinks it is funny. She does not always recognize when her blood sugar is low, and she may not act any differently when it is. She may randomly put things in her mouth. Oh, and she is VERY loving, so please do not let her kiss everyone, especially on the lips. Although I suppose that last one is more of a public service announcement. Haha.
Then, on top of everything else, there is Type 1 diabetes.
Adding an autoimmune disease that can become life threatening to everything else means my trust in the people caring for Kay has to be extreme. Someone else is now responsible for recognizing things that Kay may not recognize herself, monitoring her blood sugar, knowing what to do when it is too high or too low, and keeping her safe throughout an entire school day.
That is a lot to hand over to someone else as a parent.
So naturally, I was a little anxious sending her off for her first full day of kindergarten.
Ironically, our first pickup of the school year ended up being in the nurse’s office because Kay’s blood sugar was high. Definitely not the ending to the day I was hoping for, but thankfully, it seemed like she had a good day overall.
I was not able to talk to her teacher at pickup, so I did not get the full rundown of how her day went. I asked Kay if she had fun, though, and she immediately said, “Yes!”
I will accept that answer.
She also seemed excited to go back for her second day of school, so I am calling the first day a win overall.
I know this school year is going to help Kay flourish in so many ways. She is learning, growing, becoming more independent, making friends, and experiencing so many things outside of our little bubble.
One thing I have always been grateful for is that Kay genuinely enjoys school. For the most part, she has always been excited to go, and knowing that she can walk into a new classroom and still be excited to learn makes my heart so happy.